


Courage

by SubukuNoJess



Series: Jess's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Courage the Cowardly Dog
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Animal Mistreatment, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Childhood Trauma, Found Family, Gen, Kidnapping someone's parents and forcing them to go to the moon should be a category in itself, Memory, Mentions/Thoughts of Animal Abuse, fluff at the end, touch starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubukuNoJess/pseuds/SubukuNoJess
Summary: Part of the Bad Things Happen Bingo challenge. Prompt: Touch Starved. The day Courage met Muriel through the eyes and thoughts of Courage the Cowardly Dog. When a puppy finds himself abandoned in an alleyway, he reflects on the horrifying events that transpired prior and meets someone who'll change his life forever.
Relationships: Muriel Bagge & Courage
Series: Jess's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812640
Kudos: 8





	Courage

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here is the next entry of the angst challenge on tumblr. When I got the prompt "Touch Starved" and read what the trope meant, I thought of Courage for some reason and I remembered the episode "Remembrance of Courage Past". I figured that I could try to write it from Courage's point of view through the prompt. It was difficult for me to keep Courage in character while also making him touch starved, but I'm happy with this result. Please enjoy this short but sweet piece.

What did he do?

What did he do?!

The little pink dog scrambled out of the dumpster he was dropped into, his mind and heart racing as he tried to calm down. He found himself in a city alleyway surrounded by brick walls and trash cans. As he stood up in worry, he suddenly froze as he heard a countdown blaring in his mind and the sound of something big opening nearby. He turned his head to the direction of the sound, only to gasp as the roof of a building opened up and a rocket started blasting off into the sky.

Now the puppy remembered.

He was at the Vet’s office with his parents after getting his head stuck in a metal fence while playing catch. Everything was normal at first; the veterinarian got his head unstuck and gave him a lollipop, then went to talk to his parents. The puppy, although scared, assumed that the man was going to ask questions about him and give advice before he and his family left for home. That seemed like a normal thing to do when talking to a doctor.

_Until he heard his parents scream._

The world came to a complete stop when the little dog turned and stared as his parents dangled inside a large net with the vet carrying them behind his back to another room. What was happening? This was supposed to be a veterinarian. A doctor. Someone you trust with your health. How could a person like that kidnap his parents?

He had no time to think. He ran after the human, determined to save his parents no matter what. He went through several doors until he snuck into an office where the veterinarian was taking his family to an actual giant rocket on the other side of a window. The puppy remembered watching rockets on television screens. He had seen scary films about aliens and news reports about people flying to the moon. This man was sending his parents to outer space? Not if the puppy could do anything about it. He saw the man throw the two dogs into the rocket, shut the door, then walked back to a control panel when the countdown began.

_**60\. 59. 58…** _

Quickly, the pink canine rushed towards the rocket and jumped towards the door where he could see his parents through a little window, scared as they were calling for help and looking for a way out. He saw their big worried eyes making contact with his and his heart broke. He tried opening the door. He really did. But there was nor knob or key.

_**30\. 29. 28...** _

“Hey, what are you doing there?!” The veterinarian boomed as he entered the room and loomed over the pup. The puppy screamed in terror and ran away in circles, trying desperately to avoid the large intimidating from catching him and throwing him into the rocket as well or something worse. He noticed red arrows pointing to a metal drawer, so he ran and clambered into it, sliding down a chute just as ten gangling fingers almost grabbed him by the waist.

_**5\. 4. 3. 2. 1.** _

That was how the pink puppy found himself surrounded by trash as he waved goodbye to his family from beyond the clouds with tears welling up in his eyelids until they trickled out to the rough pavement.

This wasn’t a bad dream he could wake up from. This was a living nightmare.

This was his punishment for getting into trouble. For not being brave enough. For choosing to survive rather than help his parents or join them so they could still be a family. For not knowing what to do at a time like this. Before, his parents always forgiven him whenever he had made a mistake or got too scared. They would kiss him if he hurt himself and give him big hugs. They would encourage him to do tasks by himself, congratulating him when he did them and reassuring him when he didn’t. His father would scratch him behind his ears. His mother would curl up around him with her body when he had a nightmare. His parents always knew what to do.

And now they were gone.

* * *

The pink dog didn’t know how long he was in the alleyway. Minutes? Hours? Days?

He wanted someone to scoop him up in their arms, hold him close, and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But who could he trust? Anyone could be a monster willing to hurt him. To turn on him and do who knew what. He sat huddled by trash cans as he trembled, squirming around and hugging himself to quell his craving for contact. No family. No home. Cold. Hungry. Guilty.

The puppy wailed at the top of his lungs, almost hoping that his sobs would be loud enough to travel to outer space so that his parents would hear him. For anyone to hear him.

And someone did.

“Oh my! What are you doing out here all alone?” A mature feminine voice called out, dripping with concern and an accent. The young dog glanced to see a large woman walking towards him. She had long brown hair and circular glasses on as well as dark boots and a large dark green coat that reached her ankles. He whimpered, trembling as the woman got closer to him. A part of him didn’t want to stay. For all he knew, the human would lead him to a secret lair or something. He couldn’t trust strangers. And yet, a part of him sensed that the woman was not evil or scary. A part of him wanted comfort no matter the danger. So when the woman loomed over him, he simply stared at her and raised his paws to be scooped up.

Warm plush hands soft as wool held his sides and lifted him into the air. If he weren’t so weak and wary, he would have snuggled into her arms or lean closer to her touch. But he couldn’t. Any moment now, she would see how pathetic he was and drop him. He stared at her and waited with trembling wide eyes and dried tears.

Instead of a scowl, a tight grip to make his bones pop, or his face smacked against a brick wall, he was met with a soft grin as the woman gasped, “What courage you have!”

Courage? This woman must be mistaken. There was nothing courageous about him. Period. He ran away when his family needed him most. He cried and ran away from anything nearly everyday of his life. ‘Coward’ was the more appropriate word to describe him.

And yet, she seemed like an honest woman. Her face looked round and gentle like the fluffiest pillow in the world. Her hair seemed like a mix of chocolate and cotton candy you’d find at a county fair. She smelled of home cooking and blankets sewn by hand with care. Most of all, the eyes that hid behind the protection of her glasses glimmered in truth and positive energy. He didn’t consider himself a special creature, but at that moment, he knew that his keen senses were telling him to trust her.

“My name is Muriel.” The woman introduced herself, “Would you like to come home with me?”

It was because of her touch and gaze that made the puppy smile as he hugged the closest arm to him. Muriel’s smile grew as her arms wrapped around his waist in a firm embrace.

“I’ll call you 'Courage’. We’ll have a grand time!” She promised him before heading off to take him home in a green pick-up truck across the street.

Courage let himself get lost at the touch of Muriel’s arms, sinking into the warmth even when she got into the truck and gently placed him to her side. He never stopped touching her lap for anything. Although no one could replace his family, this woman was a welcoming close second. He thought about the days he’d spend with his new owner. Perhaps she’ll feed him good meals and they do chores or crafts together. Maybe they’ll spend their quiet days rocking back and forth with him curled up on her lap. They would grow old together and he’ll help her around the house. He’ll protect her. If there were monsters out there in the world, he was determined to protect one of the good humans in the world even if it meant his life. But he didn’t think too much of it for now.

Courage lifted his head up after a while and watched as acres of sand and dirt zipped right by before his eyes. It was just miles of nothing. He glanced to the front to see a little house and a windmill coming over the horizon. A house in the middle of nowhere away from people? Yes. This was home to Courage.


End file.
